The history of the government of France, under the administration of the great Armand du Plessis, Cardinall and Duke of Richlieu, and chief minister of state in that kingdome wherein occur many important negotiations relating to most part of Christendome in his time : with politique observations upon the chapters / translated out of French by J.D. Esq.

The Promotion of the Arch-bishop of Lions, and Monsieur Bagny to the Cardinalship.

I Will begin with the Honours which the King procured his holiness to bestow, with, the Cardinals Hats on the Arch-bishop of Lions, and Monsieur Bagny the Popes Nuntio. The great Worth of the former at the least equalized that honour of the Cardinalship, and his sublime vertue, made it apparent to all the World, that to have left him in the solitudes of a Cloyster, had been a great injury and wrong to the whole Church. I shall not need say more of him, then that he was the Car∣dinals Brother, seeing that qualification were sufficient to render him capable of so eminent a dignity. The King who slips not any occasion of acknowledging the services which he had done both to his Person and Estate, could not endure to see him have a Brother in the Church, and not advanced to the utmost degree of Ho∣nour which the French are capable of: and the Pope had but too much assurance and knowledge of the great advantages he had procured to the Church; so that he could not do lesse then honour his Brother with a hat seeing it was not in his power to raise himself to any higher Eminency. Its true by the Laws of the Roman Court, it is not permitted that two Brothers be Cardinals at the same time: But as these Laws are not so considerable as those of gratitude and acknowledgment, so his Holi∣ness did not so much as once scruple at it; And for that which concerns Monsieur de Bagny, besides the custome of ordinarily conferring the Cardinalship on such as have for some time resided neer his Majesty, in the quality of his Holiness Nuntio, which seems to give him some right or claim to the Hat; His own Worth, which rendered him deserving in the judgments of all the Grandees in the Kingdom, not only of the Cardinalship, but even of the Papal Miter, every one predicting that he would one day wear is, invied, nay enforced the King to contribute his utmost to obtain it for him; and not only that but the quality of his Genius caused every one to conclude, that he would one day be very considerable in the Court of Rome, when before he had arrived to that pitch of Honour, he could not but be very ad∣vantageously useful to the Interests of France, which upon frequent occasions depend upon their well management in the Consistory.